Bicycling advocates have been dreaming of extending the bike and pedestrian path on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge to the western span. Next month that dream could inch slightly forward to reality.

Under a plea agreement, 37-year-old Chris Bucchere of Marin County will not serve any time in jail. Instead, he will be sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service when he goes before the judge in San Francisco Superior Court on Aug. 16.

The unions on strike at BART say that a number of Bay Area politicians have offered to help end the dispute. But a BART representative said the agency is relying on state mediators to bring the two sides together.

The walkout by BART’s employees is now in full effect and Gov. Brown has been reluctant to call for a 60-day cooling-off period because that could likely have a bigger effect as the commute, at that time, will be flooded with people returning to school. But the dynamic between the transit agency and its union employees is just one example of the current state of public employee unions and management.